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| APPENDIX C - METS EXPLANATION AND FORMULAS | |||
| METS |
| As stated earlier, the MET is a unit of exercise measurement that |
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EXPLANATION |
| takes into account body weight. Since energy expenditure in a | ||||
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FORMULAS |
| directly proportional to body weight, the formulas to calculate METs | ||||
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| are a bit simpler than for, say, an exercise bike. For example, 7 mph | |||
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| running is always 11.7 METs, no matter who you are. | |||
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| A MET is defined as 3.5 ml/min/kg of oxygen usage by the body, | |||
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| where: | |||
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| ml is milliliters, the actual measured volume of gaseous oxygen | |||
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| min is minutes | |||
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| kg is bodyweight in kilograms | |||
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| This energy consumption rate corresponds to about 72 calories per | |||
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| hour for a | |||
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| metabolic rate of the general population. | |||
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| The best formulas for treadmill energy expenditure also use oxygen | |||
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| usage by the body, or VO2. The two formulas are: | |||
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| walking VO2 = (2.68 * speed) + (0.48 * speed * incline) + 3.5 | |||
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| running VO2 = (5.36 * speed) + (0.24 * speed * incline) + 3.5 | |||
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| To get METs, divide the result by 3.5. | |||
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| (Noted exercise physiologist David Costill's speed constants for | |||
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| walking and running are 3.06 and 4.86, respectively.) | |||
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Z 7 Tr e a d m i l l O w n e r ' s G u i d e
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